Bill in works to help curb, prosecute serial abuse

An overhaul of Ohio's domestic-violence laws proposed by a state lawmaker would help protect victims and ensure punishment for abusers.

An overhaul of Ohio's domestic-violence laws proposed by a state lawmaker would help protect victims and ensure punishment for abusers.

State Rep. Marian Harris, D-Columbus, is drafting legislation and seeking co-sponsors for a bill that would target serial abusers, improve prosecution and create programs that could help curb future violence.

"I am amazed at how many people continue to be victimized by domestic violence," said Harris, a 68-year-old mother of three and grandmother of six. "We need to do more to protect them. We need to do more to fix a system that has failed to protect them."

Harris said her initiative was prompted by a recent Dispatch investigation called "Domestic Silence" that exposed tolerance and indifference toward domestic violence.

The lawmaker stressed that measures in the proposed legislation are tentative, and she is open to suggestions and a discussion about the best ways to reduce domestic violence.

She expects to have both Democrats and Republicans as co-sponsors on a bill that could be introduced in the Ohio House as early as next week. In a memo to fellow House members, Harris called the importance of the request "high."

The tentative measures in Harris' bill include:

• Mandate felony charges for repeat domestic-violence offenders. Ohio law currently gives discretion to prosecutors to decide whether to elevate charges against repeat abusers to a felony. In Franklin County, only 17 percent of cases against the worst batterers have resulted in felony convictions. Those offenders collectively represent 176 convictions since 2000.

• Require an arrest when a civil-protection order is violated. Ohio law currently gives law-enforcement agencies discretion. At least other 30 states mandate an arrest when offenders ignore court orders to stay away from victims.

• Establish judicial-review hearings so that abusers meet with judges regularly to prove compliance with court orders. Offenders also would be required to get batterers-intervention counseling, a measure that mirrors laws in at least 16 other states.

• Form fatality-review boards to examine circumstances surrounding homicides involving domestic violence to determine where the system failed. Ohio's Montgomery County has had a review board for years.

• Set up a statewide tracking system for civil-protection orders. Currently, no state agency tracks violations of civil-protection orders, the number of requests that are denied or even the number of orders in effect.

• Hold local law-enforcement agencies accountable for reporting domestic-violence runs. Despite a 25-year-old law requiring authorities to report domestic-violence calls to the state, nearly a quarter of law-enforcement agencies ignore the mandate.

Gov. Ted Strickland, House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, and Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, have pledged support for reform after a close examination of the state's approach to domestic violence.

Those closest to the issue welcomed Marian Harris' proposal.

"I'm excited. It's renewed my faith that we can change the mindset around this issue," said Karen S. Days, president of the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence, an advocacy group founded by Abigail S. Wexner of New Albany.

"That's awesome. I'm glad they're doing something," said Jessica, a 28-year-old victim whose ex-fiance beat her up when a game of Guitar Hero ended badly in 2007. The man was convicted of a misdemeanor.

Jessica and her family believe that her story and a photograph of her bruised and swollen face that appeared in The Dispatch series helped compel movement toward reform.

"This can happen to someone you know and you love," said Jessica's mother. "And we need to talk about this."

Days said this proposal also could help spur action on other domestic-violence bills pending at the Statehouse. One would help victims find housing and jobs. Another would require schools to teach about teen-dating violence. A third would allow teens to take out civil-protection orders.

Harris will meet in the coming weeks with advocates, including Nancy Neylon, executive director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, to discuss how the bill might be strengthened.

"I'm excited to talk to her," Neylon said. She wants to know how Ohio's shrinking budget can afford to fund some of Harris' ideas, especially when many domestic-violence shelters are struggling to make ends meet.

Harris said change is overdue.

"Drunken driving is related to hurting people in society," she said. "Yet domestic violence has always been viewed as a private issue. Part of this is embarrassing; no one wants to admit to being a victim or an abuser. That needs to change."

jriepenhoff@dispatch.com mwagner@dispatch.com

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